Merry Christmas! From now until New Year’s Eve, I’ll be counting down my top 100 songs of the year. Every week, I make a top 40 list, and each position gets a certain amount of points, plus, I add in some extra points for weeks at #1, which goes towards their yearly total. The survey period is from December 4, 2011 to November 25, 2012. Ties are broken by (1) peak position, then (2) weeks at peak position, and then (3) number of weeks on chart should it go that far. These are the forty biggest hits as determined by those qualifications. Who will have the #1 song of the year? There’s only one way to find out. Let the countdown continue…

040. Gotye – Eyes Wide Open (456 points) (PEAK: #7)
You might “Know” his other hit coming up on the countdown, but this was the follow-up release to it. As you can imagine, it did pretty poorly, but it did earn the singer a second top ten hit on my chart, peaking at #7 for three week during a twenty-week stay. He’s one of the top newcomers of 2012.

039. Walk The Moon – Anna Sun (457 points) (PEAK: #6)
This quartet is one of the few bands from Ohio to make my chart, a list which includes 98 Degrees and Blessid Union Of Souls. “Anna” was the first single from their debut self-titled album and became a big hit at Alternative radio, while crossing over some in the past few months. It spent three weeks at #6 recently and as of most recent survey, is still hanging around in the top 30.

038. Adele – Rumour Has It (458 points) (PEAK: #9)
I originally charted this one in the fall of 2011 when it was issued as the third single from 21, but it was pulled several weeks later in favor of “Set Fire To The Rain”, which will be coming up later. However, it was back to single status several months later when “Fire” ended its run on the charts. It peaked at #9 for two weeks, marking the singer’s fifth top ten hit on my chart, though it was also a disappointment as the followup to three consecutive #1 hits. What’s she got to worry about, though? She’s rolling in the millions as we speak.

037. Adam Lambert – Better Than I Know Myself (467 points) (PEAK: #8)
From the outer depths of the Glam Nation comes the highest of Lambert’s two songs to make my year-end top 100. It was the leadoff single from Trespassing, which became his first album to debut at #1 on the Billboard 200 album chart. He is one of four singers named Adam to hit #1 on my chart, the other three being Adam Levine (Maroon 5), Adam Schlesinger (Fountains Of Wayne) and Adam Young (Owl City). Adam Duritz of Counting Crows got as high as #2 in 2003 with a cover of “Big Yellow Taxi” featuring Vanessa Carlton.

036. Emeli Sandé – Next To Me (483 points) (PEAK: #8)
This Scottish singer made her debut on my chart in 2012, though she’s been charting in the United Kingdom for several years. “Next” spent two weeks at #8 and received minor airplay at Urban AC and AAA radio during the summer. It will get a full-fledged release here in the States early next year. (For my profile on her from a few weeks back, take a look here.)

035. Katy Perry – The One That Got Away (509 points) (PEAK: #1 for two weeks)
For lessons in milking your album dry, please see Perry’s 2010 release Teenage Dream. “One” was the sixth single to be released off of it, reaching #1 on my chart for two weeks in December 2011. It was also a #1 hit at CHR radio, though it ended up at #3 on the Hot 100 in a hotly contested chart battle at the time to see if Perry would overtake Michael Jackson‘s record of five consecutive #1 singles from his album Bad in 1987-88. Two singles from the rerelease of the album are coming up soon.

034. Mat Kearney – Ships In The Night (510 points) (PEAK: #8)
34-year-old Kearney made his chart debut back in 2006 when “Nothing Left To Lose” had to settle for the runner-up position on the countdown for two weeks. So far, it’s been his biggest hit to date, but this one became his fourth top ten hit on my chart. It spent four weeks at #8 during a twenty week run, which is the shortest overall chart life of the four.

033. Nickelback – Lullaby (524 points) (PEAK: #8)Chad Kroeger and his Canadian pals keep cranking out the top ten records. This was the second and final from Here and Now, meaning that for eleven of the past twelve years, the band has averaged at least one top ten record a year. 2003 was the lone holdout, but I wasn’t much a fan of “Someday” when it was released. “Lullaby” won’t be one of their more memorable singles going forward, but the band’s got plenty of more singles to make residuals off of.

032. Maroon 5 – One More Night (527 points) (PEAK: #7)
The song that has now become Maroon 5‘s biggest hit ever on the Hot 100 didn’t quite achieve that on my chart. It spent nine weeks at #1 there, but only three weeks at #7 on my chart in the middle of a twenty-two week run. Two other past Maroon 5 songs have spent that much time or more at #1 on my chart: “This Love”, which ruled for nine weeks in 2004, and “Makes Me Wonder”, which spent eleven weeks at the top in 2007.

031. Taylor Swift – We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together (531 points) (PEAK: #4)
Alright, cool your jets, girl, you’re no Carly Simon. Swift has the longest title to chart this year at seven words in length, and it was the second highest debut of the year, entering all the way up at #21. (Only Adele‘s “Skyfall” surpasses it; that debuted at #16.) This is her only single on 2012’s year-end survey, but she’ll be to chart next year with her new top ten hit on my chart, “I Knew You Were Trouble”.

Be sure to come back tomorrow for #30 to #21 on the top 100, and it seems that Christmas is gonna leave us a little icy. Lots of ruined relationships on the way.